Capers, a fixture of Mediterranean cuisine for 2000 years, are made from the unopened flower buds of this plant. The buds are pickled in strongly salted wine vinegar to develop their characteristic aromatic pungent flavour used to such advantage in French mayonnaise-based sauces, vinaigrette, and savoury butters. Capers tend to reduce oiliness in foods, and possess a natural affinity for garlic and lemon. A straggly, slow growing shrub of dry, rocky areas of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Raising caper bush from seed is not for the novice; germination is slow and typically less than 30%. For best results, freeze seeds in moist sand for 2 weeks, then sow and keep moist and dark.